The people of Uhweru Kingdom in the Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State have exhumed the bodies of some of the victims of weekend’s alleged herdsmen attack of the community, and were taken to the mortuary apparently for authenticity.

About three corpses believed to have been victims of the onslaught were exhumed on Sunday evening after they had earlier been buried by members of the communities.

The President-General of Uwheru Kingdom, Chief Cassidy Akpodafe, told journalists on Monday that the bodies were exhumed on Sunday evening after the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege visited the community.

He described as ‘falsehood’ the position of State Police Command on the alleged attacks by suspected herdsmen in some communities of the kingdom where no fewer than ten persons were reportedly killed.

The community leader declared: “What the police are saying is not true. Yesterday (Sunday) three corpses were taken to the mortuary. As we speak, seven persons are dead inside the bush and we have not recovered their dead bodies. The three bodies taken to the mortuary were the ones we exhumed. The bodies were exhumed on Sunday evening after the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege visited the community”.

According to him, “almost 17 persons have been rushed to hospital for medical treatment. If you go to the Central Hospital Ughelli you will see them. The police should not cook a report that is not correct.”

While appealing to the Delta State and Federal Government to secure them by ordering the herdsmen to leave the community to enable the people of the area return to their farms again, Akpodafe disclosed that no fewer than 86 lives have been lost to herdsmen attacks in the kingdom in the last 12 years.

He said: “All we need is that the Delta State and Federal Government should order Fulani herdsmen to leave our land completely. If you add the present number, over 86 persons have been killed for almost 12 years that the herdsmen took over our farmlands till today.

“We have been crying of their occupation in our lands. Even those that died before, they left them for use to bury without anything being done about it. That was the reason our people insisted that we should bury them because if we complained to the government nothing will still been done about it”.

The Commissioner of Police for the State Command, Mr Hafiz Inuwa, had in a statement claimed that only one person was recovered with bullet injuries by search team of security personnel and that the victim was now receiving treatment at the Central Hospital, Ughelli.

Inuwa had described the alleged killings in the community as misleading and capable of heating the polity in the state.

The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, who visited the community on Sunday, also confirmed that some persons allegedly killed in the crisis were exhumed and had been taken to the Central Hospital Ughelli for autopsy.

Also confirming the exhuming of the dead bodies, the State Commissioner for Higher Education and leader in the kingdom, Prof. Patrick Muoboghare, alleged that the military forced people of the community to exhume the corpses.